After 50 years, Bonita Springs 'Santa' retiring

Saeanna Feuer, 9, hugs a teary Bill Janes, dressed as Santa Claus, after telling him that she wanted something for her mom for Christmas and nothing else on Friday, December 22, 2017 at the Community Center at Fleischmann Park. Janes has been playing Santa for 50 years and Friday marked his last time donning his holiday suit.(Photo: Katie Klann/Naples Daily News)

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Saeanna Feuer, 9, hugs a teary Bill James, dressed as Santa Claus, after telling him that she wanted something for her mom for Christmas and nothing else on Friday, December 22, 2017 at the Community Center at Fleischmann Park. James has been playing Santa for 50 years and Friday marked his last time donning his holiday suit. Katie Klann/Naples Daily News

Kids in the Holiday Adventure Camp grab gift bags on Friday, December 22, 2017 at the Community Center at Fleischmann Park. Bill James has been playing Santa for 50 years and Friday marked his last time donning his holiday suit. Katie Klann/Naples Daily News

Bill James, left, asks Riley Martin, 3, what she wants for Christmas with the help of her dad, Larry Martin, on Friday, December 22, 2017 at the Community Center at Fleischmann Park. James has been playing Santa for 50 years and Friday marked his last time donning his holiday suit. Katie Klann/Naples Daily News

Bill James, dressed as Santa, asks Harper Pepper, 3, what she would like for Christmas on Friday, December 22, 2017 at the Community Center at Fleischmann Park. James has been playing Santa for 50 years and Friday marked his last time donning his holiday suit. Katie Klann/Naples Daily News

Bill James, Dressed as Santa, asks Isabella Adiutori, 10, what she would like for Christmas on Friday, December 22, 2017 at the Community Center at Fleischmann Park. Adiutori said she would like a home for her family for Christmas. James has been playing Santa for 50 years and Friday marked his last time donning his holiday suit. Katie Klann/Naples Daily News

Ayvah, 3, sits on Santa's lap on Friday, December 22, 2017 at the Community Center at Fleischmann Park. James has been playing Santa for 50 years and Friday marked his last time donning his holiday suit. Katie Klann/Naples Daily News

Bill James, dressed as Santa, asks Shawon Lee and Jaxon what they would like for Christmas on Friday, December 22, 2017 at the Community Center at Fleischmann Park. James has been playing Santa for 50 years and Friday marked his last time donning his holiday suit. Katie Klann/Naples Daily News

Bill James, dressed as Santa, hugs Harper Pepper, 3, on Friday, December 22, 2017 at the Community Center at Fleischmann Park. James has been playing Santa for 50 years and Friday marked his last time donning his holiday suit. Katie Klann/Naples Daily News

When Janes first thought about being Santa, he asked a man if he could borrow his suit.

The man refused.

Janes didn’t understand it then. He does now.

For 50 years, the Bonita Springs resident has worn the same Santa Claus suit. Had to change the fur and lining but the suit remains.

There’s a spirit in that red garb, Janes believes. It has led crying or wary children to hugging him when they got off his knee. There also was the time he felt sick before going to a Santa event. “But the more I dressed, the better I felt,” Janes said. “I felt hyped and ready to go.”

Epitome of Santa

Janes is just about everything you’d want in your Jolly Old St. Nicholas.

After 20 years of being a football official, he and wife, Cheryl, work the chain gang for Barron Collier High football games. "We've done that a combined 78 years," he said.

And besides playing Santa around Christmas, he’s been an Orange Bowl volunteer, helping with media credentials.

The one time Janes traded his red suit for a blue one was when he was welcomed at a Kentucky men’s basketball game. A total of 25,000 cheered for him.

Down here, Janes often will join friends at Johnny Malloys for games, drinking a sweet tea.

That’s done for a reason.

“It’s not just my persona as Santa, but it’s my persona,” he said.

ids in the Holiday Adventure Camp grab gift bags on Friday, December 22, 2017 at the Community Center at Fleischmann Park. Bill Janes has been playing Santa for 50 years and Friday marked his last time donning his holiday suit.(Photo: Katie Klann/Naples Daily News)

Two-state Santa

For the past 25 years, Janes also has played Santa at Rodes, an apparel company in Louisville, Kentucky. Janes, a native of Bardstown, Kentucky, also is retiring from there.

“It was a sad day when he said goodbye,” Rodes president Howard Vogt said. “It’s just been pure joy. It’s so much fun. We literally all stand and watch.

“We see families when they’re coming in. There’s a lot of windows so we’ll tell Bill. It’s some kids' second or third year and he’ll remember their names. They melt.

“They tell us, ‘He’s the real Santa, not the mall guy.’”

Vogt said when he became president 15 years ago, he and James talked about making the experience real. Janes has shooed parents away so children can whisper in his ear. “They have actual discussions,” Vogt said. “People wait but they don’t mind because it’s fun to watch. He’s warm and friendly and unassuming. He knows how to break the ice. And he’s great with adults.”

Often whole families will sit on his lap. He he has posed with people who bring their pets.

“We talked, ‘What are we gonna do next year?,’” Vogt said. “I guess we could bring somebody else in. We could find something. But we’re not going to find him.”

Janes said their relationship is so strong, he received a bag of clothes from Vogt when he asked if he had anything for Sudan youths who came to the U.S.

Over the years, Janes has had many memorable moments with children.

When a child asked for a pony, Janes asked him, “Who’s gonna feed it, clean it, who’ll ride it and exercise it? Who will take care of it?

“At least it gives parents an out.”

But the most poignant moments have come when children don’t want gifts.

Bill Janes, left, asks Riley Martin, 3, what she wants for Christmas with the help of her dad, Larry Martin, on Friday, December 22, 2017 at the Community Center at Fleischmann Park. Janes has been playing Santa for 50 years and Friday marked his last time donning his holiday suit.(Photo: Katie Klann/Naples Daily News)

When Janes asked a girl what she’d like, the girl said, “Peace and harmony.”

After they talked a few more minutes, he repeated the question. “Nothing,” she said.

Janes later found out her parents were breaking up.

Another time, one of Janes’ Kentucky buddies had him meet his granddaughter. “I asked, where did you come from,” Janes said. “She stopped, looked up, pointed and said ‘God’.

Another child, who had Down Syndrome, sat on his lap quietly and frowned.

“I don’t know what I said to him, but he grabbed me and hugged me and had the biggest grin on his face,” Janes said. “That’s one of the reasons I play Santa Claus. That’s why I love to be around children. I’ve had kids pee on me and cry; but when they leave, they’re all over me. I think I have something that gets them to draw to me.”

Janes prefers homes to malls because he can carry on conversations with the youths instead of sticking to the script. One family that had had him visit their home gave him a retirement book of pictures over the years.

“That really floored me,” he said.

Bonita Springs' Bill James has played Santa for 49 years(Photo: Craig Handel)

Coming to an end

Seeing children playing on the street in the mid-1960s gave Janes the initial inspiration to play Santa.

He wanted to start in 1967, but while working on his roof, he fell and broke his neck and back.

Santa and roofs usually have better outcomes.

For those who tell him how appreciative they are of his visit, he shares a secret.